Motor drives are machines that selectively provide electrical power from a power source to an electric motor in a controlled fashion to operate the motor according to a desired profile or set point operating condition, where such motor drives typically provide for motor speed control, torque control, position control, etc. During operation of motor drive systems, certain conditions or events may cause shutdown of the drive. Examples include over voltage conditions, line power problems, and other plant disturbances, where the motor drive may be programmed to stop the motor or take some other precautionary action, such as a controlled shut-down, etc. In certain situations, it may be possible to simply reset or restart the drive once the triggering condition has subsided. In this case, however, the cause of the shut-down may remain unknown, and the same situation may subsequently reoccur, leading to increased down-time for the motor system, loss of production, and expenditure of resources trying to identify the reason for the motor drive stoppage. Other situations are possible in which plant disturbances or system component failures cause damage to the motor and/or the drive, and it may not be possible to simply reset the drive for continued operation without repairing or replacing system components. In these cases, it is desirable to address the condition or conditions that caused the failure before operating the repaired system. However, identifying the plant disturbance or device failure that caused the system to shut down is often difficult or impossible without trial and error type testing at the original site. Moreover, intermittent plant disturbances may not be revealed by such testing, and may thus cause subsequent system stoppage, possibly resulting in further damage to system devices. Therefore, a need exists for improved motor drives and systems to facilitate identification of the causes of motor drive system shutdown.